Potholes- how to stretch a budget?

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Having come off a m/cycle many years ago due to a cover not being raised when the road was resurfaced, I have since reported such ‘road surface defects’ to the local authority. In October past I reported one online which was duly highlighted with yellow paint but not repaired by early January.

Checked again last week and was surprised to see neither paint nor repair. Looked at the LA’s online map which shows all reported faults and, to my surprise, the marker had also gone. Reported the problem again.

I have heard  that a L.A’s defence, should a claim be made for damage to a motor vehicle caused by a road surface issue, is ‘what we don’t know about we can’t repair’.

Am I starting to suffer from paranoia in thinking this is may be a simple way to stretch a totally inadequate road repair budget?

Jim

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

Potholes are a national disgrace and a very visible sign of mis-government, don’t want to be political but plenty of money for certain things!!!! It won’t get better under the new regime!!!! Does nothing work in this country anymore or get fixed properly??? Thanks Jim for setting me off.

Tony

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

It depends on who is doing the hole

We had the gas guys for 6 months doing leaks instead of replacing pipes and it looked like the Luftwaffe had been targeting us

(I loved it, no cars, walk the dog in the road)

When the road guys came at the end they made a beautiful job of it with stone chips in the road tar and sealed edges

The council pothole guys use a bag of “approved by them” squishy tarry stuff, jump on it a bit (metaphorically speaking) and leave.

There’s no tar tinning or anything like that

Over the following weeks about 50% of it gets mulched out by traf-fic and if there’s regular buses it hasn’t a hope of staying put

So part of the problem is they supervise their own work and the problem doesn’t get sorted

[JimmieS]

On 20 January 2024 at 16:50 JimmieS Said:

………………..

I have heard  that a L.A’s defence, should a claim be made for damage to a motor vehicle caused by a road surface issue, is ‘what we don’t know about we can’t repair’.

………………..

Jim

As a biker myself, I’m very much aware of the problem.
Various local authorities seem to have their own reporting methods, but personally, I favour
Fix-My-Street.

Available on line via a browser, or a downloadable app, where you can add a photo & GPS location from your smartphone.

I’ve found it works well, and makes the report publicly viewable with a time/date stamp, so the LA can’t say they are unaware in the event of a claim

Example below

Bill

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

If they fixed them properly, they’d work themselves out of a job.

Rob

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Gas man dug a hole in the road near me to fix a leak. They finished Wednesday but the road is still closed causing great inconvenience. I wouldn’t be quite as upset but the actual hole is in the pavement, so why not fill it to the brim with gravel and put a plate over it. I’d charge them a substantial fee per day for closing the road, and double it on days they are not working on it. It’s just a matter of getting your ducks in a row

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

They left our holes for weeks at a time

Apparently they have to de-gas the earth and surrounding ground before filling in

…2024 procedures…

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

Clearly I can’t speak for other authorities, but the “on-line” reporting system for road defects, implemented by Essex County Council, is so awkward and un-intuitive so as to discourage a lot of residents from submitting anything.

Perhaps, as eluded to earlier, is what Local Authorities want?  “what we don’t know, we can’t repair”.  Why doesn’t that surprise me?

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Just came across this link. https://www.transport-network.co.uk/Legal-analysis-Do-councils-have-to-fix-potholes-immediately-Not-quite/13809#at%20First%20Instance

[duncan webster 1]

On duncan webster 1 Said:

Gas man dug a hole in the road near me to fix a leak. They finished Wednesday but the road is still closed causing great inconvenience. I wouldn’t be quite as upset but the actual hole is in the pavement, so why not fill it to the brim with gravel and put a plate over it. I’d charge them a substantial fee per day for closing the road, and double it on days they are not working on it. It’s just a matter of getting your ducks in a row

Well the good news is someone as frustrated as me has thrown aside all the bollards, so the road is open again. Not the gas man, after all it’s Sunday.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

As an amusing aside, a little while ago I attended a lecture given by the Friends of the River Wey (the Dorset one).

We leant that one day a lorry trying to cross a bridge built in local stone knocked a large chunk of the parapet into the river.

The FRW among others contacted Dorset Council and were told nothing could be done for at least nine months, not only by queuing the work itself but all the paperwork first- Risk Assessments, etc., etc…

Not long after this, barriers and warning signs mysteriously appeared next to the damage.

By a strange coincidence, this was followed by someone turning up with mortar materials and tools, and a farm tractor with front loader and lifting slings also manifested.

The parapet was back up by the late afternoon, and after a delay to let the mortar set, the barriers disappeared just as mysteriously as they’d appeared…..

Very odd!

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Last night some manager from our county council highways department was on TV. They were showing a pot hole being repaired. Lovely job they did too. Cut out a square with plenty of margin argound the damage with a diamond saw, removed material, cleaned and primed the hole. Filled it tamped down with vibrating plate and finally sealled the join between old and new with tar strip melted into join with gas torch.
Manager is wearing a brand new branded reflective jacket.

Funnily enough they filled a pothole down the road from me a month ago. Pack of cold mix pressed roughly flat with a hand tamper. Two weeks later the original hole had enlarged around the edge. They stuck another lot of cold mix in…….

Robert.

[Nigel Graham 2]

On Nigel Graham 2 Said:

……. We leant that one day a lorry trying to cross a bridge built in local stone knocked a large chunk of the parapet into the river.

The……

That keeps happening near me, hump back bridges over the canal. Problem is I believe HGV companies using private car sat nav because they are cheaper (free if you use your phone) whereas specially tailored for HGV are available but expensive.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

The HGV version may be expensive but that’s hardly an excuse for a commercial company with customers to help share the cost – and what is the cost to them of compensations and insurance claims, repairs to the lorries and delays to their services?

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